Closure.



J. ALBERTI.

CLOSURE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 3. 1914.

1 1 99 ,026 Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

INVENTOR CWWW- W WITNESSES 0% 4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN ALBEBTI, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE INTERNATIONAL CORKCOMPANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CLOSURE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN ALBERTI, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, in thecounty of Kings and State of New York, have into be locked to the neckof the bottle, etc.,

and a sealing disk or packing of'cork or the like, that is held withinthe cap, for instance, by means of a suitable sticking material.

It has been found in practice that in many cases it is impracticable topermit the liquid contents of the bottle or other receptacle to comeinto contact with the sealing disk of cork or like material, as someliquids, such as pure water, mineral water or beverages of delicateflavors are apt to acquire a corky taste. T e commercial value of suchliquids is thus greatly impaired. In order to obviate this and similardefects of the crown corks and like closures, it has been proposedheretofore to 'cover the outer,

that is to say the exposed faces of the seal ing disks, with thin layersof pliable or ductile metal, such as chemically pure block tin,aluminium or alloys of tin. With the use of these closures, however,serious difiiculties have been found, which prevent the same frombecoming commercially successful. One of these defects consists in thatthe layer of metal is apt to wrinkle and, thus, to prevent the formationof an airtight seal. Moreover, the metal, owing to its inherentproperties, cannot as readily conform to defects in the glass, or othermaterials of which the bottle or receptacle is made, as cork or likesubstances will do. The result is that the slightest defect in the neckof the receptacle prevents the formation of airtight seals with theseclosures. When it is taken into consideration that bottles, or likereceptacles upon which crown corks or similar closures are used, aremanufactured in great quantities and at the lowest possible cost, itwill be obvious that little care can be taken in the manufacture thereofSpecification of Letters Patent.

to obtain smooth and perfect-necked articles, and, inasmuch as themetal-covered closures of the type above described did not fulfil, asmentioned above, in conjunction with rough and imperfect bottle neckstheir purpose, it will be easily understood why the commercial use ofsuch closures could not be successful.

It is now one of the objects of the present invention to obviate thedefects of the covered closures heretofore in use, that is to say toobtain a closure which forms under all circumstances an airtight seal,yet prevents completely the contamination of the bottle contents.

With this and other objects in view, which will more fully appear as,the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists inthe combination, arrangement and construction of parts hereinafter fullydescribed, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes theinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1is an elevation, partly in section, of a bottle closure constructed inaccordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a bottom plan viewthereof; Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken through a portion of theclosure on an enlarged scale; and Fig. 4 is a similar section takenthrough a portion of the closure and a bottle to which it is ap plied.

In the drawings, a bottle closure of the crown cork type has been shownfor purposes of illustration, it being, however, obvious that theinvention may be applied to any and all closures of the cap variety, theforms of the metallic caps of the closures being immaterial as far asthe invention is concerned, as will readily appear from the followingdescription.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10indicates a cap, comprising a substantially cylindrical head 11 and acorrugated flange 12, which is Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

Application filed October 3, 1914. Serial No. 864,867.

adapted to be locked in the well known manner to the exterior of abottle neck. This cap is made, as usual, of thin sheet iron coated withtin. In the cap is disposed a sealing disk or packing 13 of cork or likematerial, which is united with the cap, for

instance by an interposed sticking material 14, or in any other suitablemanner. To the outer, or in other words to the exposed face of thesealing disk, is attached concentrically with the latter a thin layer oftenacious or ductile metal, such as, for instance, chemically pure blocktin, aluminium or an alloy of tin. This layer is made in the form of adisk, denoted by the numeral 15, its diameter being smaller than thediameter of the sealing disk 13, and being stuck to the latter by aninterposed cementing medium, shown at 16. This cementing medium should,preferably, be of the type that is insoluble in liquids after it has setand formed a union between the packing and the metallic disk; it shouldbe insoluble at normal temperature and also at temperatures above thenormal. It has been found in practice that albumen is particularlyadapted for use in connection with this invention, it being inodorous,tasteless, soluble in water and thus readily preparable for use.Moreover albumen coagulates easily and is rendered insoluble at about140 Fahrenheit, the coagulation resulting in a firm union between thepacking of the cork or the like and the metallic disk, such union beingbrought about almost instantaneously. In manufacturing these closures,the cementing medium is applied either to the exposed face of thesealing disk or packing of cork or the like, or it may be spread overthat surface of the metallic disk that is to be in contact with thepacking, or it may be carried by a layer of fibrous material that is tobe interposed between the two disks, the metallic disk being thenconcentrically positioned in relation with and upon the packing, theentire closure being put, if necessary, under pressure and heated,whereby the cementing "medium is coagulated, holding thus the metallicdisk in place.

It should be noticed that in these closures an annular portion of theouter face of the packing adjacent its periphery is exposed, theremainder being covered by the metallic disk 15. The exposed portion,denoted in the drawings by the numeral 17, may vary, of course,according to the requirements, that is to say according to the thicknessof the Wall of the bottle neck.

It is obvious that, while herein a specified cementing medium has beendescribed, others may just as well be used without departing from thespirit of the invention, which lies mainly in the provision of ametallic disk that covers a portion of the outer face of the packing ofcork or the like of the closures, leaving an annular portion adjacent tothe peripheral section of the packing exposed or uncovered.

The operation of the closure herein scribed is as follows: When the capis cured to the neck of the bottle 20 in t e wall. of the bottle neck ispressed against the packing, the closures constructed in accordance withthis invention retain the advantages of the ordinary and absolutelyperfect crown corks or similar closures, that is to say they seal thebottle or other receptacle against escape of gaseous and liquid matter.

What I claim is 1. A closure for receptacles comprising a metallic cap,a sealing disk of cork or the like therein covering the entire innerface of the head portion thereof, and a fiat disk of ductile metalhaving a diameter that is substantially smaller than that of saidsealing disk but slightly larger than the inner diameter of the neck ofthe receptacle to which said closure is to be applied, said flat diskbeing cemented to the exposed face of said sealing disk.

2. A closure for receptacles comprising metallic cap, a sealing disk ofcork or the like therein covering the entire inner face' of the headportion thereof, and a flat disk of ductile metal exterior to saidsealing dis said flat disk having a diameter that is sub stantiallysmaller than that of said sealing; disk but slightly larger than theinner diameter of the neck of the receptacle to which said closure is tobe applied, said two disks 3 being stuck together by an interposed 0e?'menting medium that is coagulated and rendered insoluble by heat.

3. A closure for receptacles comprising metallic cap, a sealing disk ofcork or the like therein covering the entire inner face the head portionthereof, and a flat disk 1 ductile metal exterior to said sealing (125;.said flat disk having a diameter that is Slt; stantially smaller thanthat of said sealing; disk but slightly larger than the inner diameterof the neck of the receptacle to what said closure is to be applied,said two di being stuck together by an interposed r mentingmediumconsisting of a heat coag lated albuminous substance.

4. A closure for receptacles comprising metallic cap, a sealing disk ofcork or the like therein covering the entire inner face of the headportion thereof, and a flat disk of ductile metal exterior to saidsealing disk, said flat disk having a diameter that is substantiallysmaller than that of said sealing disk but slightly larger than theinner diameter of the neck of the receptacle to which said closure is tobe applied, said two disks being stuck together by an inter osedcementing medium that is coagulate by heat.

Signed at New York, in the county of JOHN ALBERTI.

Witnesses;

Simrtmn Hrnzoe, S. BIRNBAUM.

